All posts tagged "travel"

Friday, May 25, 2012

"Nearly every time I travel-whether it's for vacation or for work-people crawl out of the woodwork to ask me which iOS apps I use when on the road."

And now Jacqui Chan from Ars Technica answers that question with some of her must-have apps when traveling. Some I knew about, such as TripIt and Kayak, but there are some other options here too so worth the read. What apps do you like to use when traveling?

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

"If you're planning a trip to a national park or want to learn more about one, National Parks by National Geographic is a gorgeous guide for your iPhone that offers beautiful photography and loads of information, including photo tips, park secrets, must-see attractions, and things to do."

If you are going to one of the national parks in the U.S. then you need this free app. You get one park of your choice with it and additional parks are purchased via in-app purchase for $0.99 to $1.99 USD, depending on the park.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

"The popular line of mTrip Travel Guides for the iPhone/iPod touch are being made available for free this week."

Great deal on these apps and they are giving away different cities each day. You can go to the iTunes page for mTrip and see what shows up as free each day, or check out the AppAdvice article for the schedule and go back each day this week for your free guides. Normally $5.99 USD so this is a great deal.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

"We've seen some rather inventive USB chargers in our time, but surprisingly few have managed to make charging while traveling a painless process."

Heck, I might even use this at home for regular charging. Power up to three devices and fold it up when you aren't using it. It is a bit pricey at $79.95 USD, but at least it won't become obsolete any time soon.

Monday, May 30, 2011

My friend Rafe Blanford pointed out this service, which I hadn't heard of until now. It looks interesting - at current rates, it's about 86 cents USD/CAD per MB, and they support SIMs, microSIMs, and USB sticks. That's not "I'm going to order a TV season on iTunes and download it all" cheap, but if you were careful about not downloading email attachments and were sparing with your Internet access, you could make a $40 investment last a week or two. While you can check your online balance easily, it seems this isn't a true pre-pay solution...the metre keeps running without stopping, so be careful what you decide to download.

Note that this is for data only: this is for your laptop, tablet, or I-only-want-Internet-phone. If you want to use your phone abroad and do voice calls, text, etc. you'll need to get a SIM from a wireless carrier. Anyone know of a service similar to this but for full phone service?

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

"It was a month ago to the day that I ditched physical books, comics, and magazines for my iPad. A round-the-world trip for work precipitated the change. For 29 days, I would be outside the U.S., with stops in Australia, Singapore, India, and the UK. Not to mention that the India stop included three cities and four additional flights. It was not the time for a big stack of physical media, nor for a full laptop. It was time to travel light and to travel digital."

So how did his trip turn out, leaving his MacBook behind and traveling light with only his iPad? Well, you will have to read the article to find out, but suffice to say, he found positives and negatives. I'm about to embark on my own shortened version, wanting to travel light as my Dad and I head down to Texas for a few days of football so I may follow his lead and see how it ends up for me.

Friday, October 1, 2010

"MapQuest, in its drive to get on people's radars again, is launching an interactive atlas that combines MapQuest maps with an array of geographic, cultural and climate data."

I guess they never really left, but just got left behind in the Google Maps dust. They are back now though, and have come out with an Atlas. The interface is pretty simple, and gives you basic facts about any country you click on (or touch on if you are using your iPad), all gleaned from the CIA's World Factbook [link]. It's a nice, albeit simple, addition to the MapQuest line.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

"Lots of people are wondering whether a touch-based tablet computer that doesn't have a physical keyboard or run a traditional operating system can replace their laptops on the road. So I decided to find out."

And so begins Mossberg's vacation to Paris, sans laptop, to see if he truly can make a working vacation "work" with just his iPad, smartphone and digital camera. For his purposes it worked fine, but it may not be for everyone.

Friday, September 3, 2010

"Nice to see the Washington State Department of Transportation getting into the app business (free app). Shows the traffic, alerts, and travel times. Very nice start."

Glad to see more and more agencies adopting apps as a way to disseminate information to the masses, as this free app [link] does for those traveling through Washington State. Doing a search for "transportation" in the App Store led to many choices so if there isn't one for your area now, chances are there may be soon.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

"Travel much? Then you are no doubt familiar with the many flight tracker Apps available on iOS devices. However, despite their relatively simple function, there's a bunch of questions that need to be asked in order to find the right one for you."

A pretty good selection of apps that they go over in this article and it's sure to help you make up your mind on exactly which app you need to fill your needs.

Friday, July 2, 2010

"One of the best parts about traveling is sharing your experiences with friends and family back home."

One way to document all your adventures is to create your own blog, or go to a site like everlater where they help you create one. Or any number of apps and web-based tools. If you get lost in the choices, have a look at this article where they narrow it down to a few of what they consider some of the best travel tools. After all, it is travel season yes?

Monday, April 26, 2010

"It's okay to take your iPad to Israel. The Israeli iPad ban is done. After conducting a thorough review of the devices wireless connections, Israel has change its mind. It decided iPads do not "damage Israel's domestic network," as previously believed."

The Communications Ministry lifted the ban after getting more information from Apple, and said they had nothing against Apple, and that they like the iPhone. That's a relief, right?

Friday, January 29, 2010

"AppFury, LLC. presents the essential iPhone app for SoHo and NoLita (New York City). SOHOinmypocket is a necessity for everyone exploring the SoHo and NoLita neighborhoods of New York City, whether you're a local or new to town."

Impressive credentials listed on their website, such as top five in the iPhone App Store navigation category and featured on iTunes in the "New and Noteworthy" section. They also offer discounts and deals at various places in the SoHo and NoLita neighborhoods of New York City. According to the developer they update it monthly and it's available now in iTunes [affiliate link] for $1.99 USD.

Monday, December 14, 2009

"This fall, I was lured to Panama. Friends who settled there a year ago had regularly regaled me, an avid traveler, with visions of a lively Latin city with nearby, unspoiled beaches bordered by jungle."

If you are traveling anytime soon, this article has some good tips for you, and references some handy websites to use to get organized. One of them, Gliider, is a pretty slick Firefox add-on that will also be coming out with an iPhone app in the first part of 2010. Unfortunately no Safari plug-in at this time or in the near future if at all according to what I've been able to ascertain. David Pogue also blogs about another app called Flight Track that helps him out in his travels. There are many options out there for travelers, what do you use to help you get from point a to point b and all points in between?

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

"When it comes to adventure and travel, who could possibly know more than National Geographic Adventure magazine?"

National Geographic Adventure magazine does a lot of research for you, from local spots to international adventures so they know a thing or two about travel. They also do their fair share of research in the technology area and one of the recent articles was about the iPhone, and a variety of applications that help you in your travels. Some of them are ones you probably have heard about such as UrbanSpoon and HearPlanet, but they also pointed out some that aren't exactly well known like World Customs and Packing. The article is a fairly quick read and you may find some apps you can't travel without.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Singapore Airlines announced the first-ever flights featuring iPod and iPhone connectivity on KrisWorld starting this week on its newly reconfigured, all-Business Class Airbus A340-500 flights between New York and Singapore, and between Los Angeles and Singapore from August."Singapore Airlines announced the first-ever flights featuring iPod and iPhone connectivity on KrisWorld starting this week on its newly reconfigured, all-Business Class Airbus A340-500 flights between New York and Singapore, and between Los Angeles and Singapore from August."

Photo Credit: Singapore Airlines

Not sure when I will ever get the chance to try out the new entertainment system but it sure sounds slick. Each seat has a 15.4-inch LCD screen and noise-cancellation headphones to go along with the iPod/iPhone connectivity. That is the way to travel.